Matthew 25:31-46 This is perhaps one of the best known parables. Do we treat is as a parable, or as an actual description of the situation? It follows immediately on the trail of the bridesmaids and the talents, with no break in between, as a parable about the end of the age. Sheep, one side, goats, the other – what’s the difference?…

Matthew 25:1-30 Are You Prepared?            These two parables come after chapter 24, in which the disciples ask Jesus how they will know when the end of the age is, and when is the end of the age? This is a topic that some branches of the church spend a lot of time on to this day. You can probably find a…

Matthew 22:1-14            This parable is the third in a set that immediately follow on the triumphal entry of Jesus to Jerusalem on what we now call Palm Sunday. The first parable is about a man with two sons, one who goes out in to the fields after saying he won’t, and the other who doesn’t, after saying he will. The second…

Matthew 20:1-16 Continuing to ask the question of why Jesus would tell the disciples a certain parable, the end of chapter 19 has Peter tell Jesus that they have given everything up to follow him. Peter wants to know what they will get. That conversation happens right after being told by Jesus that it will be easier for a camel to get…

Matthew 18:15-35 Sometimes we get wrapped up in the parables. We think about the symbolism, and spend our time trying to figure out what they mean. We spend a lot of time figuring out who we are, who God is, what the metaphor is about, and what it means. We sometimes get so wrapped up in figuring out what the parables mean…

Matthew 16:24–17:8 Passion prediction, bearing the cross, Transfiguration (Psalm 41:7-10) This passage is really all about the previews. This is what’s coming, people. Coming soon to a theater near you… These previews are approved for all audiences… Take up your cross and follow, has become a byword, and a slogan. Things are just our cross to bear. Listen to more than the…

Matthew 14:13-33 Feeding the 5,000, walking on the sea (Psalm 95:1-5) Jesus is trying to get away in this passage. He’s trying to get away from the crowds after the death of John the Baptist. He just wants to be alone. He needs some space, perhaps to grieve, perhaps to pray, perhaps to prepare for what will come next. He can’t get…

Matt 13:24-43 Parable of wheat and weeds (Psalm 84:1-7) The parables are tough things. They are words from Jesus, that often don’t quite make as much sense as we’d like them to, and they are all over the place. Many of the narratives depend on us understanding some sort of agrarian economy and way of life, and often, they assume things that…

Matthew 7:1-14, 24-29 Speck in the eye, narrow gate, wise man builds house on rock (Psalm 37:16-18) Lots of stuff going on here. Almost too much, to be honest. Judge not, logs and specks, pearls before swine, holy to the dogs. Ask, seek, find, Good gifts. Golden Rule. Narrow gate, wide road to destruction. I think we can find one or two…